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Trapping light by mimicking gravitational lensing

Nature Photonics volume 7, pages 902–906 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

One of the most fascinating predictions of the theory of general relativity is the effect of gravitational lensing, the bending of light in close proximity to massive stellar objects. Recently, artificial optical materials have been proposed to study the various aspects of curved spacetimes, including light trapping and Hawking radiation. However, the development of experimental ‘toy’ models that simulate gravitational lensing in curved spacetimes remains a challenge, especially for visible light. Here, by utilizing a microstructured optical waveguide around a microsphere, we propose to mimic curved spacetimes caused by gravity, with high precision. We experimentally demonstrate both far-field gravitational lensing effects and the critical phenomenon in close proximity to the photon sphere of astrophysical objects under hydrostatic equilibrium. The proposed microstructured waveguide can be used as an omnidirectional absorber, with potential light harvesting and microcavity applications.

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Figure 1: Analogue of light deflection in a gravitational field and microstructured optical waveguide.
Figure 2: Structural and optical measurements of the sample.
Figure 3: Scattered field intensity around the microsphere.
Figure 4: Deflection angles.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Projects for Basic Researches of China (nos 2012CB933501, 2010CB630703 and 2012CB921500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos 11074119, 60990320 and 11021403), the Louisiana Board of Regents and National Science Foundation (contract nos LEQSF (2007-12)-ENH-PKSFI-PRS-01, LEQSF (2011-14)-RD-A-18), the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0480), a doctoral program (20120091140005) and Dengfeng Project B of Nanjing University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures & Department of Physics, National Center of Microstructures and Quantum Manipulation, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    C. Sheng, H. Liu, Y. Wang & S. N. Zhu

  2. College of Engineering and Science, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, 71270, Louisiana, USA

    D. A. Genov

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  1. C. Sheng
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  2. H. Liu
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  3. Y. Wang
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  4. S. N. Zhu
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Contributions

C.S., H.L., Y.W. and S.N.Z. proposed and carried out the experiment. D.A.G. contributed to the experimental characterization and interpretation, and proposed and developed the theory. D.A.G., C.S. and H.L. co-wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to H. Liu.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Sheng, C., Liu, H., Wang, Y. et al. Trapping light by mimicking gravitational lensing. Nature Photon 7, 902–906 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.247

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